Illinois Mayor ‘Embarrassed’ After His Wife Disregarded Stay-At-Home Order To Attend a Social Gathering

On Monday, an Illinois mayor revealed that he was “embarrassed” after his wife was caught hanging out at a prohibited social gathering over the weekend that had to be broken up by police since it went against strict stay-at-home orders.

“I was also made aware that my wife was in attendance at this prohibited social gathering,” Alton Mayor Brant Walker wrote in his statement on Facebook. “I instructed the Police Chief to treat her as he would any citizen violating the ‘Stay At Home’ order and to ensure that she received no special treatment.” The incident took place at Hiram’s Tavern early Sunday morning.

The gathering blatantly went against the state-issued stay-at-home order, which bans residents from leaving their homes for any reason but to buy essential items or to perform essential activities in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The statement went on to add, “My wife is an adult capable of making her own decisions, and in this instance, she exhibited a stunning lack of judgment. She now faces the same consequences for her ill-advised decision as the other individuals who chose to violate the ‘Stay At Home’ order during this incident.”

Walker apologized to Alton residents and said he was “embarrassed by this incident.”

As of Tuesday, Illinois had 13,549 confirmed COVID-19 cases, which included 380 deaths, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said last week that he would be extending the stay-at-home order through April 30th in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.